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Friday, September 4, 2015

Time to Revisit Hillary Clinton on Syria

In her interview with Andrea Mitchelltoday
on MSNBC, the humanitarian crisis in Hungary arose. Many, perhaps most
of these refugees are from Syria. Hillary mentioned in the interview
that she had addressed the critical situation faced by the Syrian people
time and again as Secretary of State.

Two years ago exactly, the
media was hounding her (as always). Then, it was that they wanted her
to speak out on Syria. At that time, I posted this retrospective of her
efforts to help the Syrian people.

Now might be a good time to
review this material while bearing in mind that Hillary is very clear
that the response must be international, not unilateral, and not just
the US and Europe.

I am posting that response in full here. I know it is long, but if
you take the time simply to skim this, you will see that Hillary, back in
Spring 2012, predicted what is happening now in Lebanon. If the
government does not do its job, you can bet ISIS will step in. Hillary
knows this and said it more than three years ago. That is the vision we
need in a president.

September 3, 2013
Some in the media apparently think it is incumbent upon Hillary Clinton
to speak out on Syria despite the fact that she is no longer a
government official. As she wraps up her well-deserved vacation and
gets back on her schedule of speaking appearances, including the
upcoming Clinton Global Initiative, it is perhaps a good time to look
back at some of what she said while she served as Secretary of State
beginning with this op-ed reposted in full.

In an op-ed in the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper,
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemns the violent
crackdown in Syria and calls for a transition to democracy. The full
text of the Secretary’s op-ed follows.
“There Is No Going Back in Syria”
By Hillary Clinton
As
the violent crackdown in Syria continues, President Assad has shown
that he is more interested in his own power than his people.
The
world has joined Syrians in mourning the deaths of many innocent people,
including a 13-year old boy who was brutally tortured and mutilated.
Approximately thirteen hundred Syrians have been killed since protests
began. Many thousands more have been jailed and abused. Syrian security
forces have surrounded communities and cut off electricity,
communications and the Internet. Economic activity has slowed, the
country is increasingly isolated and its citizens are growing more
frustrated every day.
In his May 19 speech, President Obama echoed
demonstrators’ basic and legitimate demands: the Assad government must
stop shooting demonstrators, allow peaceful protest, release political
prisoners, stop unjust arrests, give access to human rights monitors,
and start an inclusive dialogue to advance a democratic transition.
President Assad, he said, could either lead that transition or get out
of the way.
It is increasingly clear that President Assad has made
his choice. But while continued brutality may allow him to delay the
change that is underway in Syria, it will not reverse it.
As
Syria’s neighbors and the international community respond to this
crisis, we should be guided by the answers to several key questions: Why
has it erupted? What does the crackdown reveal about President Assad
and his regime? And where does Syria go from here?
First, there should be no doubt about the nature of the protests in Syria.
Like
Tunisians, Egyptians, Libyans and others across the Middle East and
North Africa, the Syrian people are demanding their long-denied
universal rights and rejecting a government that rules through fear,
squanders their talents through corruption, and denies them the dignity
of having a voice in their own future. They are organizing themselves,
including the local coordinating committees, and they are refusing to
back down even in the face of revolting violence.
If President
Assad believes that the protests are the work of foreign instigators –
as his government has claimed – he is wrong. It is true that some Syrian
soldiers have been killed, and we regret the loss of those lives too.
But the vast majority of casualties have been unarmed civilians. By
continuing to ban foreign journalists and observers, the regime seeks to
hide these facts.
Second, President Assad is showing his true
colors by embracing the repressive tactics of his ally Iran and putting
Syria onto the path of a pariah state.
By following Iran’s lead,
President Assad is placing himself and his regime on the wrong side of
history. He will learn that legitimacy flows from the consent of the
people and cannot be forged through bullets and billyclubs.
President
Assad’s violent crackdown has shattered his claims to be a reformer.
For years, he has offered pledges and promises, but all that matters are
his actions. A speech, no matter how dutifully applauded by regime
apologists, will not change the reality that the Syrian people, despite
being told they live in a republic, have never had the opportunity to
freely elect their leaders. These citizens want to see a real transition
to democracy and a government that honors their universal rights and
aspirations.
If President Assad believes he can act with impunity
because the international community hopes for his cooperation on other
issues, he is wrong about this as well. He and his regime are certainly
not indispensable.
A Syria that is unified, pluralistic, and
democratic could play a positive and leading role in the region, but
under President Assad the country is increasingly becoming a source of
instability. The refugees streaming into Turkey and Lebanon, and the
tensions being stoked on the Golan, should dispel the notion that the
regime is a bulwark of regional stability that must be protected.
Finally,
the answer to the most important question of all – what does this mean
for Syria’s future? – is increasingly clear: There is no going back.
Syrians
have recognized the violence as a sign of weakness from a regime that
rules by coercion, not consent. They have overcome their fears and have
shaken the foundations of this authoritarian system.
Syria is
headed toward a new political order -- and the Syrian people should be
the ones to shape it. They should insist on accountability, but resist
any temptation to exact revenge or reprisals that might split the
country, and instead join together to build a democratic, peaceful and
tolerant Syria.
Considering the answers to all these questions,
the United States chooses to stand with the Syrian people and their
universal rights. We condemn the Assad regime’s disregard for the will
of its citizens and Iran’s insidious interference.
The United
States has already imposed sanctions on senior Syrian officials,
including President Assad. We are carefully targeting leaders of the
crackdown, not the Syrian people. We welcomed the decisions by the
European Union to impose its own sanctions and by the UN Human Rights
Council to launch an investigation into abuses. The United States will
continue coordinating closely with our partners in the region and around
world to increase pressure on and further isolate the Assad regime.
The
Syrian people will not cease their demands for dignity and a future
free from intimidation and fear. They deserve a government that respects
its people, works to build a more stable and prosperous country, and
doesn’t have to rely on repression at home and antagonism abroad to
maintain its grip on power. They deserve a nation that is unified,
democratic and a force for stability and progress. That would be good
for Syria, good for the region and good for the world.http://aawsat.com/leader.asp?section=3&article=627159&issueno=11890

###

Below
are links to a compendium of her remarks on the deteriorating situation
as she met with a variety of action groups on Syria. This is, by no
means, a comprehensive collection since she also gave a great many
interviews and press briefings following bilaterals over the past two
years where she addressed the issues at hand and sought solutions that
would permit democracy to take hold.

I
must interrupt here to correct a rewrite of history. A few days ago,
on CNN, Fouad Ajami said that Hillary Clinton "stopping off to cut a
rug" in South Africa on her way to a meeting in Turkey about Syria was
bad optics. His story is upside down. Hillary had long been scheduled
to stop in South Africa and attend a conference there. Here is her
original itinerary which was supposed to be for an 11-day trip - her
farewell tour of Africa as Secretary of State.

July 30, 2012
Well,
the Africa trip is official, and we can see why it took awhile for the
State Department to post the itinerary - it's another long one, and
arranging it must have been very complex since it does not coincide with
earlier reports. More than a week, it's another killer - six
countries/11 days. Ghana and Nigeria are not mentioned, but Kenya and
South Sudan are. I think I speak for everyone here in wishing her a
safe and successful trip and hoping she manages to sneak in a little
vacation time when she gets back home.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Travel to Africa

Press Statement

Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

July 30, 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Africa July 31 through August 10, 2012.
During this trip, the Secretary will emphasize U.S. policy commitments
outlined in the Presidential Policy Directive - to strengthen democratic
institutions, spur economic growth, advance peace and security as well
as promote opportunity and development for all citizensThe Secretary’s first stop will be Senegal,
where she will meet President Sall and other national leaders and
deliver a speech applauding the resilience of Senegal's democratic
institutions and highlighting America's approach to partnership.Next, Secretary Clinton travels to South Sudan
where she meets with President Kiir to reaffirm U.S. support and to
encourage progress in negotiations with Sudan to reach agreement on
issues related to security, oil and citizenship.In Uganda, the Secretary meets with President Museveni
to encourage strengthening of democratic institutions and human rights,
while also reinforcing Uganda as a key U.S. partner in promoting
regional security, particularly in regard to Somalia and in regional
efforts to counter the Lord’s Resistance Army. She will also highlight
U.S. support in the fight against HIV/AIDS.The Secretary will then travel to Kenya
where she plans to meet President Kibaki, Prime Minister Odinga, and
other government officials to emphasize her support for transparent,
credible, nonviolent national elections in 2013. To underscore U.S.
support for completing the political transition in Somalia by August
20th, Secretary Clinton will also meet with President Sheikh Sharif and
other signatories to the Roadmap to End the Transition.The Secretary continues her trip in Malawi, visiting President Banda to discuss economic and political governance and reform.In South Africa, Secretary Clinton will pay her respects to ex-President Mandela,
and to participate in the U.S.-South Africa Strategic Dialogue focusing
on the partnership between our two countries in addressing issues of
mutual concern and our shared challenges on the African and world stage.
Secretary Clinton will be accompanied by a U.S. business delegation.

###

While
the trip was in progress, additional stops were scheduled. Many
countries wanted Hillary to stop during this tour. Some were added
late, e.g. Nigeria, because security issues needed to be resolved and
Ghana for the sadly unpredictable funeral of the late John Atta Mills.
Turkey was also added because the meeting was scheduled after she was
already on tour.
Professor Ajami, we do not appreciate men with
white whiskers trying to rewrite history. She did not "stop by" South
Africa on her way to Turkey. South Africa was long-scheduled, Turkey
was tacked on when the meeting was scheduled. If FM Mashabane wanted to
throw a farewell party for her friend and partner with whom she had
worked for four years, you, Professor Ajami, should be grateful that
someone in our government understood that the next battleground with
China is Africa, that the battlefield is economic, and that Hillary
Clinton made strong friends there, often while putting herself in grave
personal danger. Your smirky, snarky, and untrue comment is shameful,
insulting, and disgusting.

U.S
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) reacts during here visit to
Malawi August 5, 2012. Clinton paid a lightning visit to Malawi on
Sunday to congratulate its new president, Joyce Banda, one of only two
female heads of state in Africa, for pulling her impoverished country
back from the economic brink after a political crisis. REUTERS/Eldson
Chagara (MALAWI - Tags: SOCIETY POLITICS)

The rumor
mill has been whizzing out of control all weekend with stories of
additional countries to be added to the already packed schedule for this
trip. Originally arranged as an 11-day trip, the addition of Turkey
next Saturday for talks on Syria extends that by at least one day.
Within the African leg of the trip, Voice of America
reports the inclusion of Ghana, Nigeria, and Benin. The first was
expected since the purpose is to attend the funeral of Ghana's late
President John Atta Mills who passed away unexpectedly on July 24.
Sources for that early story appeared credible. The Nigerian leg was
announced by local sources last night. Benin comes as a complete
surprise since neither very early reports nor the buzzing rumor mill had
ever mentioned a stop there. VOA reports:
Clinton is due to fly to South Africa Sunday, and later on to Nigeria, Ghana and Benin.
In Ghana, she is expected to attend the state funeral of the country's late president John Atta Mills.

It
was during this final trip as Secretary of State that she fell so ill
that she fainted and sustained a concussion. Later tests detected a
blood clot, and she could not return to her duties until January when
she did her best to wrap up her stay at the State Department and put the
transition into place for Secretary Kerry's assumption of command.
So
for those who would have Hillary Clinton comment at this critical time
on a crucial issue, let you be reminded that neither have Bill Clinton
nor George W. Bush commented on Syria for excellent reasons. They are
no longer in office and do not have access to the latest intel. Neither
does Hillary Clinton. The situation is in the hands of the present,
second Obama administration. Live with the history you were so
instrumental in making.
***********************************************************************Updated to add:
Of course, as soon as I had this all put together, she decided to come
out and say something anyway. Then again, what would anyone expect her
to say?

(CNN) –
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton backs President Barack
Obama's proposal to take military action in Syria, an aide told CNN's
Jessica Yellin on Tuesday.

"Secretary Clinton supports the
President's effort to enlist the Congress in pursuing a strong and
targeted response to the Assad regime's horrific use of chemical
weapons," the aide said.Read more >>>>

Actually, CNN got this wrong. She did not back the military action. She backed taking it to Congress.

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